Build on your Skills

A practical hands-on guide to

support your organisation with

identifying the training needs of

your Trustees/volunteers/paid staff


This toolkit has been produced by PAVS through the Learning in the Voluntary Sector Project, funded by the Objective 1 European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) in the Welsh Assembly Government.

Last updated May 2008

This resource can be adapted for use within your organisation and we hope you find it useful.

For further support or extra copies of the toolkit, please contact PAVS on:

PAVS

36-38 High Street

Haverfordwest

Pembrokeshire

SA61 2DA

01437 769422

What you will find in this toolkit

Introduction Pages 2-3

Why do you need this toolkit?

Running a Build on your SkillsWorkshopPages 4-10

Where to start

Facilitating the session

The Line Game

Ever Decreasing Circles

Training Needs Analysis

Ranking Priorities

Next Steps and Evaluation

Optional ExtrasPages 11-12

Skills Audit

Staff Questionnaires

Supervision and Appraisal

AppendicesPages 13-29

Appendix 1 – What you need for the event

Appendix 2 – What you need after the event

Appendix 3 – Implementing the Learning Plan

Why do you need this Toolkit?

Much of the information in this factsheet has been taken from the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ) factsheet on identifying learning and training needs

What is a Training Needs Analysis (TNA)?

TNA is the collection of data to find out where there are gaps in the existing skills and knowledge of individual Trustees, volunteers or employees. A successful TNA can result in people being more productive and happier in their roles.

The TNA process will also help identify skills that already exist within the organisation. You never know – you might have a volunteer or member of staff who can help a colleague learn something new!

A TNA can often help to identify where there might be significant gaps in the knowledge or skills of the organisation as a whole. For example, new developments in information technology or a change in legislation may mean that the whole organisation needs training in a topic that might not previously have been necessary.

Why is needs analysis important?

Careful analysis of learning needs is important because:

  • Without the right balance of skills and knowledge being present within an organisation, it may struggle to implement strategies and achieve targets
  • Providing learning opportunities to volunteers/Trustees and paid staff enables them to develop and achieve personal and career goals, as well as meeting organisational objectives
  • Well-planned training is an effective way of keeping volunteers and staff - if people feel valued and know that they have an opportunity to improve their skills, they are more likely to stay with an organisation
  • A carefully planned TNA and the resulting training can be cost effective. Knowing who is interested in learning what means that courses can be targeted to those who really need the training, rather than taking a “blanket” approach
  • Once you know what people need, it is easier to plan and evaluate the training, particularly if there is a requirement for volunteers/staff to attain an accredited professional qualification

When to undertake training needs analysis

TNA can be undertaken at a number of levels.

  • For the organisation as a whole - The aim is to understand how much and what kind of learning will be needed to ensure that every person in an organisation (whether paid or unpaid) has the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to contribute effectively to the overall aims and objectives of the organisation. Ultimately, this process ensures that the right skills will be in placeat the right time for the organisation to meet its targets over the short, medium and long term. For example, this would be a useful exercise at the start of a new project or contract, or as an integral element of the development of a five-year business/development plan.
  • For a specific team, project or area of work – Within an organisation, there may be one-off projects, organisational changes, or new ways of working which bring about changes in the work (paid and unpaid) that people do. Research should be carried out on the demands of the new project or job, and gaps identified between current skills and the skills needed to meet the new demands.
  • For the individual -often this will take place at appraisal / review with the volunteer / employee and their volunteer manager / line manager. Needs may cover enhancing skills to improve performance on the current job, to deal with forthcoming changes, or developmental needs that will enable the individual to progress. This is particularly important when an individual may be looking to move from a pure volunteering role into further training and paid employment.

CIPD factsheet written by Jennifer Taylor, an independent consultant and researcher and Principal of Further Developments Ltd. January 2007. Adapted by PAVS

Running a Build on your Skills (BYS) Workshop –

Your step-by-step guide to facilitating a successful event

Where to start

A BYS workshop takes a participative approach to identifying organisational training needs and should involve as many people as possible, including Trustees, volunteers and paid staff. As well as giving everyone a chance to contribute, the workshop itself provides an excellent opportunity for Trustees, staff and volunteers to meet each other and work together as a team to achieve a common objective.

Organising a BYS workshop is very similar to organising any event. You will need to choose an appropriate venue, and decide upon a date and time when most people are able to attend, allowing around 3 hours (maximum) for the workshop.

Once you have the basics organised, it’s worth giving the participants plenty of noticeso that they can put it in their diaries, and start to think about what sort of training they want/need. Sending a flier to all staff / volunteers so they know what to expect can also help. See Appendix 1.1 (clickhere)for a sample flier. Just complete the details and add your logo – clip art could also improve the presentation.

Top Tip! If you can, choose a venue away from your premises – and give people uninterrupted thinking time! There is nothing worse than the phone ringing or people having to leave the session half way through to deal with something or someone. Contact PAVS for details of community venues in Pembrokeshire.

Before the session starts

Equipment and resources – you will need:

  • Flipchart stand (one)
  • Flipchart paper (enough for each group to have a few pieces)
  • Post-its (lots!) – Tip: choose brightly coloured Post-its to energise the group
  • Different coloured flipchart pens / felt pens (enough for a few per group)
  • Note paper
  • Sticky dots / stickers (enough for 6 each)
  • Sticky tape
  • Blue/White Tack (for affixing flip chart sheets to walls)

Paperwork – you will need:

  • A sign-in sheet to keep a record of who attended the session (see Appendix 1.2 or clickhere)
  • Peer Facilitator Guidance Notes – one pack per group (see Appendix 1.3)
  • Spare copies of the flier/programme
  • Pre-prepared flip chart sheets and evaluation wheel

Don’t forget tea/coffee/milk/sugar/biscuits – and small bowls of mints or other sweets on each table help to provide sustenance for the work ahead!

Room set-up

It is useful to have a fairly large room as you will be asking people to work in groups around tables. Each group should consist of between 4-8 people, and 3-4 groups work well – if you end up with more groups, you may have to allow more time for the session as feedback will take longer.

Tables and chairs will need to be set up for each group – “café style” works better than formal “examination style” rows of tables. Put a Peer Facilitator pack on each table (containing Guidance Notes, sticky dots, Post-its and notepaper), flip chart pens/felt tips and sweets – if you have them! You will also need to have a space for the facilitator to present from (with the flipchart) and a separate refreshments table, with cups, saucers, hot water, etc.

Position a “reception” desk close to the door, with the sign-in sheet and spare copies of the flier/programme for the workshop. You can use this table to display additional information if you wish.

Top Tip! If you are using a venue that you have not used before, and particularly if you are using a community venue, leave plenty of time to set up the room before the start of the workshop. You may have to spend quite a bit of time moving furniture!

Facilitating the session

Setting the Scene

This gives the facilitator the chance to introduce the session to all the participants, explaining the purpose of the workshop and so on. This is also the time to get any necessary paperwork completedand to invite people to introduce themselves, if not everyone knows each other.

Don’t forget to run through housekeeping issues, especially if this is not your usual venue for training or events. It’s important that everyone knows what to do in the event of fire, the location of toilets, fire exits, etc.

You might also want to establish ground rules for the session, just to make sure everyone is comfortable with what is going to happen, how the session will be run, and so on. This is particularly important where you have mixed status groups – for example, Chair of Trustees and/or Chief Officer working alongside volunteers. Everyone needs to be confident that their contribution to the workshop will be valued.

Typical ground rules might cover things like switching mobile phones off or to silent; not interrupting; participating and contributing ideas; respecting the views of others; keeping to time, etc. In the interests of time, writing these up on a flip chart in advance of the session might be the best approach. Run through them with the group, get their agreement, and add any others that might be suggested and agreed. You are now ready to start!

Top Tip! If you are not an experienced facilitator, contact PAVS for support. One of the PAVS Learning and Development team will facilitate the session for you, or help you find an appropriate course to develop your facilitation skills. PAVS can also help with preparing the workshop report and helping produce a Learning Plan – just ask!

The Line Game

This short ice-breaker activity can be used to get people moving around and talking to each other. It also helps introduce the important principle of ranking against a specified criterion, which is used later in the session to prioritise identified training needs. It is, therefore, a “fun” but relevant activity to get the session off to a flying start.

  1. Split the group into 2 teams – use a random selection technique so that the participants are mixed up
  2. Ask each group to think of a way of ranking themselves - and keep it a secret from the other group! The criterion for ranking does not need to relate to a visible attribute (such as height, length of hair, etc) – past examples have included distance travelled from home; zodiac signs; number of years resident in Pembrokeshire, etc. It can really be anything they choose!
  3. Once each group has come to an agreement about the criterion to be used, the teams should line up facing each other, with each person in the team in his/her correct place according to their individual ranking
  4. One person from each team must tell the other group which end of the line is the top/highest (eg oldest person), and which is the bottom/lowest (eg youngest person).
  5. The aim of the “game” is for each team to guess the criterion the other team has chosen by asking closed questions (ie with “Yes/No” answers). You can either do this one team at a time, or allow the teams to alternate – the team that guesses the criterion first is the “winner”.

Some criteria are easier to spot, for example height or age, but even the most bizarre criteria can usually be identified through careful questioning. This is a useful exercise to help people get to know each other a bit better - for example, finding out people’s birthdays, how many siblings they might have, or even where they live.

If they guess the answer quite quickly, you could repeat the exercise, or mix the teams up.

If you do not feel comfortable with this activity or if you are short of time, you might choose another warm-up or icebreaker to start off with, or move straight to the first group task. Visit the resource library at the Pembrokeshire Centre for Voluntary Action at PAVS or for new ideas!

Top Tip! Make sure there is plenty of room for both groups to move around and be far enough from each other when discussing the criterion for ranking so that they can’t cheat!

You are now ready to introduce the first of the group activities that will work towards identifying and prioritising organisational training needs. This is a good time to introduce the Peer Facilitator pack and ask each table to nominate one person to take ownership of the pack and act as the group facilitator. The packs contain group facilitator guidance notes, which will help keep activities on track. (See Appendix 1.3 or click here).

Ever Decreasing Circles

You will need…

  • One pre-prepared flip chart sheet per group marked in the following way:
  • Flipchart pens / felt pens, a few per group to write on the flipchart paper
  • Peer Facilitator Guidance Notes – “Ever Decreasing Circles”

The purpose of this activity is to look at some of the key external/internal issues affecting volunteers, Trustees or paid staff within the organisation. These could be negative issues, such as lack of funding, low numbers of volunteers – or positive issues, such as opportunities for expansion, partnership working, new computer systems, etc. The Peer Facilitator Guidance notes are there to help!

  • Hand out the pre-prepared flip charts – one per group
  • Ask participants to think about some of the key issues that have/will have an impact on their role, either at an individual or organisational level
  • Each idea should then be discussed within the group and, if agreed, the contributor should write the idea in the appropriate circle on the flip chart:

ME – individual issues (such as lack of time; new line management duties)

US – organisational issues (such as moving into new premises, new IT systems)

THEM – external factors (such as new legislation; European funding)

  • Feedback – ask the first group to feed back on their individual issues (written in the ME circle of the flipchart) – discuss and record any other ideas put forward by the other groups. Ask the second group to feed back on organisational issues (US), and the third group to feed back on external factors (THEM)

Training Needs Analysis

You will need…

  • One sheet of flip chart paper per group marked “TRAINING NEEDS”
  • Lots of brightly coloured Post-it notes – each person will need a batch
  • Peer Facilitator Guidance Notes – “Needs Analysis”

The purpose of this session is for all the participants to think about the training they would like, or need, in light of the issues identified in the previous exercise that define the context in which the organisation is working.

Initially each participant works individually to identify training needs. The group when comes together to discuss what everyone has identified, grouping common ideas together, and agreeing a heading/descriptor for each theme.

  • Ask the participants to write down any training courses they would like to attend or skills areas they would like to improve, one per Post-it. This part of the activity should be completed individually – be strict about this! Encourage participants to refer back to the previous exercise to remind themselves of the external/internal drivers for change that might have an impact on what training will be required in future
  • Once you can see that people have stopped writing, tell the groups to start the second phase of this activity. The peer facilitator should ask each person in turn to contribute one training need, placing the Post-it at random on the flip chart paper. If other people have identified the same or a similar need, group the Post-it notes together, and then move onto the next person. Encourage discussion during this part of the task – and groups can add new ideas identified through discussion at any time
  • Once all the Post-its listing training needs are placed on the flip chart, the group should then organise these into common themes, for example, health & safety; information technology; communication skills, etc.
  • Encourage the groups to end up with no more than 9 themes – any more will make the next session more difficult!

Top Tip! Have plenty of brightly coloured Post-its and make sure that people only write one training need per Post-it. It gets very difficult to group the training needs into common themes if there is more than one suggestion per Post-it.